Studied by 3 people
Odom || Tuesday, Thursday 2:00pm
Organum
Earliest kind of polyphonic music, which developed from the custom of adding voices above a plainchant; they first ran parallel to the chant at the interval of a fifth or fourth and later moved more freely
Vernacular
The common language spoken by the people as distinguished from the literary language, or language of the educated elite
Latin
The formal language of the church and the sacred tradition
Troubadours
Medieval poet‐musicians in southern France; such women were called troubairitz
Trouvères
Medieval poet‐musicians in northern France
Gregorian Chant
Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church. Also plainchant or plainsong
Liturgy
The set order of religious services and the structure of each service, within a particular denomination (e.g., Roman Catholic)
Syllabic
Melodic style of one note set to each text syllable
Neumatic
Melodic style with two to four notes set to each syllable
Melismatic
Melodic style characterized by many notes sung to a single text syllable
Tonal
Based on principles of major‐minor tonality, as distinct from modal or atonal
Mass
Central service of the Roman Catholic Church
Proper
Sections of the Roman Catholic Mass that vary from day to day throughout the church year according to the liturgical occasion
Ordinary
Sections of the Roman Catholic Mass that remain the same from day to day throughout the church year
Kyrie
The first musical section of the Ordinary of the Mass. Its construction is threefold, involving three repetitions of “Kyrie eleison” (Lord, have mercy), three of “Christe eleison” (Christ, have mercy), and again three of “Kyrie eleison”
A Cappella
Choral music performed without instrumental accompaniment
Antiphonal
Performance style in which an ensemble is divided into two or more groups, performing in alternation and then together
Verse
In poetry, a group of lines constituting a unit. In liturgical music for the Catholic Church, a phrase from the Scriptures that alternates with the response
Unison
“Interval” between two notes of the same pitch (for example, two voices on the same E); the simultaneous playing of the same note
Responsorial Singing
Singing, especially in Gregorian chant, in which a soloist or a group of soloists alternates with the choir. See also call and response
Neumes
Little ascending or descending symbols used to help singers remember the general shapes of the different melodies
Modes
Scale or sequence of notes used as the basis for composition; major and minor are modes
Offices
Cycle of daily services of the Roman Catholic Church, distinct from the Mass
Monasteries
Religious communities of individuals who chose to gather in systematic religious practice
Estampie
A dance form prevalent in medieval France, either sung or performed instrumentally
Rebec
Medieval bowed‐string instrument, often with a pear‐shaped body
Pipe
A medieval flute with three holes, blown at one end through a mouthpiece
Guitarra Moresca
A strummed string instrument introduced into Spain by the Moors; an early version of the guitar
Nakers
Medieval percussion instrument of Middle Eastern origin resembling small kettledrums and played in pairs with the hands
Ars Nova
“New art,” the refined, complex style of polyphony in fourteenth‐century France, as exemplified by music of Guillaume de Machaut
Ars Antiqua
The “old art” of twelfth‐ and thirteenth‐century French polyphony, displaced by the Ars nova
Chanson
French monophonic or polyphonic song, especially of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, set to either courtly or popular poetry
Rondeau
Medieval and Renaissance fixed poetic form and French chanson type with a courtly love text
Ballade
French poetic form and chanson type of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, with a courtly love text. Also, a Romantic genre, especially a lyric piano piece
Virelai
Medieval and Renaissance fixed poetic form and French chanson type, generally with a courtly love text
Word-Painting
Musical pictorialization of words as an expressive device; a prominent feature of the Renaissance madrigal
Madrigalism
A striking effect designed to depict the meaning of the text in vocal music; found in many madrigals and other genres of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries
Madrigal
Renaissance secular work (originating in Italy) for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short, lyric love poem; also popular in England
Part Book
A bound music book—either print or manuscript—with music for a single vocalist or instrumentalist
French Chanson
French monophonic or polyphonic song, especially of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, set to either courtly or popular poetry
Italian Madrigal
Renaissance secular work (originating in Italy) for voices, with or without instruments, set to a short, lyric love poem; also popular in England
Imitation
Melodic idea presented in one voice or part and then restated in another, each part continuing as others enter
Cantus Firmus
“Fixed melody,” usually of very long notes, often based on a fragment of Gregorian chant, that served as the structural basis for a polyphonic composition, particularly in the Renaissance
Motet
Polyphonic vocal genre, often secular in the Middle Ages but sacred or devotional thereafter
Homorhythmic
Texture in which all voices, or lines, move together in the same rhythm
Humanism
A new way of thinking centered on human issues and the individual
Gloria
The second musical section of the Ordinary of the Mass
Credo
The third musical section of the Ordinary of the Mass
Sanctus
The fourth musical section of the Ordinary of the Mass
Agnus Dei
The last musical section of the Ordinary of the Mass
Congregational Singing
Simple worship music, often monophonic, in which the church congregation participates; often associated with Lutheranism and Calvinism
Reformation
Protestant movement that called for a change in practices of the Roman Catholic Church
Counter-Reformation
Catholic movement that focused on a return to Christian piety
Council of Trent
Longest committee meeting; addressed the matter of church music
Bas
Medieval and Renaissance category of soft instruments, used mainly for indoor occasions, as distinct from haut, or loud, instruments
Haut
Medieval and Renaissance category of loud instruments, used mainly for outdoor occasions, as distinct from bas, or soft, instruments
Recorder
End‐blown woodwind instrument with a whistle mouthpiece, generally associated with early music eras
Lute
Plucked‐string instrument of Middle Eastern origin, popular in western Europe from the late Middle Ages to the eighteenth century
Shawm
A double‐reed instrument of Middle Eastern origin; the ancestor of the oboe
Sackbut
Early brass instrument, ancestor of the trombone
Cornetto
Early instrument of the brass family with woodwind‐like fingerholes; developed from the cow horn but was made of wood
Tabor
Cylindrical medieval drum
Pavane
Stately Renaissance court dance in duple meter
Saltarello
A sprightly Italian dance featuring leaping steps, popular in the Renaissance era
Ronde
Lively Renaissance “round dance,” usually performed outdoors
Embellishment
Melodic decoration, either improvised or indicated through ornamentation signs in the music
Doxology
A prayer of thanks to God, sung after a psalm or at the close of the Magnificat
Da Capo Aria
Lyric song in ternary, or A‐B‐A, form, commonly found in operas, cantatas, and oratorios
Opera
Music drama that is generally sung throughout, combining the resources of vocal and instrumental music with poetry and drama, acting and dancing, scenery and costumes
Recitative
Solo vocal declamation that follows the inflections of the text, often resulting in a disjunct vocal style; found in opera, cantata, and oratorio. Can be secco or accompagnato
Aria
Lyric song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, generally expressing intense emotion; found in cantata, opera, and oratorio
Overture
An introductory movement, as in an opera or oratorio, often presenting melodies from arias to come. Also concert overture
Sinfonia
Short instrumental work, found in Baroque opera, to facilitate scene changes
Libretto
Text or script of an opera, oratorio, cantata, or musical (also called the “book” in a musical)
Masque
English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance, developed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Hornpipe
Country dance of the British Isles, often in a lively triple meter; optional dance movement of solo and orchestral Baroque suites. A type of duple‐meter hornpipe is still popular in Irish traditional dance music
Scotch Snap
A reversed rhythmic dotting pattern, in which short notes occur on the beat
Ground Bass
A repeating melody, usually in the bass, throughout a vocal or instrumental composition
Chorale
Congregational hymn of the German Lutheran church
Collegium Musicum
An association of amateur musicians, popular in the Baroque era. Also, a modern university ensemble dedicated to the performance of early music
Bar Form
Three‐part A‐A‐B form, frequently used in music and poetry, particularly in Germany
Oratorio
Large-scale dramatic genre originating in the Baroque, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra; similar to opera but without scenery, costumes, or action
Ritornello
Short, recurring instrumental passage found in the Baroque aria and concerto.
Lutheran Cantata
A multimovement genre for voices and instruments with a lyric or dramatic religious text, for use in the Lutheran church service
Figured Bass
Baroque practice consisting of an independent bass line that often includes numerals indicating the harmony to be supplied by the basso continuo keyboard player. Also thorough‐bass
Basso Continuo
Italian for “continuous bass.” See figured bass. Also refers to a performance group with a chordal instrument (harpsichord, organ) and one bass melody instrument (cello, bassoon); also continuo
Major-Minor Tonality
A harmonic system based on the use of major and minor scales, widely practiced from the seventeenth to the late nineteenth century. See also tonality
Equal Temperament
Tuning system (used today) based on the division of the octave into twelve equal half steps
Castrato
Male singer who was castrated during boyhood to preserve his soprano or alto vocal register; prominent in seventeenth‐ and early eighteenth‐century opera
Improvisation
Spontaneous creation or elaboration of music through performance, as in Baroque ornamentation, cadenzas of concertos, jazz, and some non‐Western musics
Virtuosity
Remarkable technical skill
Suite
A unified series of instrumental movements meant to be performed as a single work; in the Baroque era, a series of contrasting dances, generally in the same key
Allemande
German dance in moderate duple meter, popular during the Renaissance and Baroque periods; often the first movement of a Baroque suite
Courante
French Baroque dance, a standard movement of the suite, in triple meter at a moderate tempo
Sarabande
Stately Spanish Baroque dance type in triple meter, a standard movement of the Baroque suite
Jig
A vigorous dance developed in the British Isles, usually in compound meter; became fashionable on the Continent as the gigue; still popular as an Irish traditional dance genre
Minuet
An elegant triple‐meter dance type popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; usually in binary form. See also minuet and trio
Gavotte
Duple‐meter French Baroque dance type with a moderate to quick tempo
Bourrée
Lively French Baroque dance type in duple meter
Passepied
French Baroque court dance type; a faster version of the minuet
